What to Wear for Family Pictures

You’re ready to capture some beautiful family photos that will be cherished for years to come… but what should you wear?!

Where will they be displayed?

Take a look at your home. Will these photos be in your living room? What colors would match your home decor? Or are these photos for a Christmas card? Find your card and match your outfits to the card’s color scheme! Still not sure? Check out my post on What Colors Coordinate with the Season.

Now that you’ve narrowed down your color scheme…

Choose one key outfit and build off of that!

Find that one outfit that you absolutely want to have in the pictures. Whether it’s a beautiful dress, or a special heirloom baby outfit, or your husband’s favorite tie, make sure you start with that and find everyone else’s outfits to match it! I really wanted to wear this dress, so I had my children wear off-white, brown and denim colors to coordinate with it. I lay them all out on the bed overlapping each other to see if it is pleasing to the eyes. Then for my husband I had to search for a nice tan shirt that would bring it all together! I took this closeup of the tan color in my dress to help me find a shirt that matched. You can have your kids wear matching outfits, or if you don’t want them to be identical, just stick to coordinating! So if you have two kids wearing the same color top (like I have here, an off-white dress and an off-white shirt), have one of them wear a vest or scarf to keep them unique!

Dress for the weather.

This one might be obvious, but can be forgotten when you are in transitional seasons! Make sure you are comfortable when getting your pictures done, you don’t want to be sweating a ton, or on the other spectrum you don’t want to catch a cold! Keep an eye on the weather forecast the week you are getting your pictures done. If you need to be flexible, bring a large blanket that coordinates with your colors, and you can wrap your whole family to make a comfy cozy photo look (or use it in between shots to keep warm)!

Use textures and accessories!

Textures in clothes like lace, knits, faux fur, and embroideries can add a nice touch to your photos! Opt for these and/or subtle patterns. Also if you are looking for a pop of color, accessories are your friend! A scarf, necklace, or your shoes could be exactly what your ensemble needs! Even a special toy or stuffy in your child’s arms could complete the picture. It also might be nice to have that toy along for the photographer to hold as they try to get your child to look at the camera!

And last but most important: Wear your beautiful smiles 🙂

Our family photos were taken by the amazing Kayte Patterson in Fort Wayne, IN.